A Podcast and A Plug

I recently recorded a few podcasts with the gentlemen at 360 Woodworking. You can check out the first over at 360 Woodworking.

Chuck Bender, one of the proprietors at 360, is one of the three members of the our woodworking community that were truly instrumental in me starting this years long endeavor of making planes.

I have been fascinated by Chuck's work for a long time and use any excuse to spend time in his shop. As a result, I will be teaching two classes out in Cincinnati in early November.

In the first session I will teach the of making side escapement planes by walking the small class through the process of making a round. Each student will then leave with the material, skill and tool (hollow) to make the mating round.

In the second two-day class we will learn the process of how to use hollows and rounds to make repeatable and desirable profiles with a series of tools that have no fences or depth stops and are difficult to steer.

Over these years I have learned that each woodworking school is different. Chuck's school is geared toward small groups, which means that there is a lot of one-on-one interaction so more subjects can be thoroughly covered. Additionally, the shop helper, Chuck, has not only made the various subjects his classes focus upon, but he built an obviously successful career in selling them. He uses this type of tool in his professional work so he comes to the subject fully knowledgable and from a different prospective.

Who knows, maybe we'll even get Mr. Machine himself, Glen Huey, to try one out. So consider coming for the knowledge and experience or just Glen's handtool intervention where we address the subject 'Safety With Power Equipment: Fact or Fabrication.'

Skew vs. Square

One of the many questions that I get asked through emails or at tool shows is in regards to skewed irons vs. square. This is an important and relevant question because we have all seen both out in the wild and in use. There are advantages to skew; there are disadvantages. The same applies to square.

The main advantage to square irons is apparent when working with the grain using a plane that has no fence (read hollows, rounds, etc.). When there is no fence the planes will tend to pull in the direction of the skew. This tendency is far from ideal in a plane that can already be difficult to steer.

The main disadvantage to square irons is noticeable when working across the grain. The surface left by a square iron isn't as smooth when the iron is not 100% sharp.

The opposite of these attributes is true with skewed blades. Skewed irons are nice with a fenced plane because the skew is oriented in a manner to pull the plane into the fence, affording the end user one less thing he must pay heed to (at least reducing the amount of attention given).

The skew can be a nice feature when working with the grain, but is ideal when working across it. The skewed iron will leave a much nicer surface than a square iron with a plane that is similarly sharp.

Generally, I suggest skewing a plane only when the intended use involves a significant amount of cross grain work, i.e. table tops, drawer lips, etc. In these instances the plane will be traveling across the grain 50% of the time.

Drawer lips are also an ideal time to have, not only a skewed plane, but a dedicated one, too. A series of drawers will place multiples of the profile next to each other and true uniformity is ideal.

There are a few other instances where square or skew excel. Most of that is involved in the manufacture or cost of manufacture.

All of that being said, you will likely swear that the type of plane you start with is ideal because it is what you've learned with and have already overcome the deficiencies.

Finally, if you've noticed that there have been a lot fewer blogs posted by the woodworking community recently it may be because everybody has moved to Instagram. I've been using Instagram for a month or so now and there is a lot of activity over there.

P. S. I have a thumbnail plane like the one above for sale and ready to ship. The plane is $360 plus shipping. Please send an email to matt@msbickford.com if you are interested. (Note: this is the first time I've used the blog to do this, sorry)

Success

My favorite emails in my inbox always include a few pictures of successful work created with planes I made or by people who have read my book and put the process I describe to work.

I received several pictures from a customer, FF, a while back and thought that I'd include them here. You can clearly see the process followed below:

There is a moderate amount of work with the rabbet plane, but not too much with the profiled hollows and rounds.

I have said it before and I will say it again: the beauty of these planes is that you can embellish your work in the fashion you want. You need not rely upon your router bit selection nor Woodcraft's.

If you want to make a profile out of a single piece instead of building it up, you can.

FF may never make this profile again, but he will certainly use the same tools and the same process.

 Big and small, well done!

I will be teaching this process this weekend at Lie-Nielsen in Warren, ME. You will learn the process to make the profiles above and much, much more.

A Weekend at Lie-Nielsen

I will be teaching a Weekend Workshop at Lie-Nielsen in Warren, ME from May 21-22.

These classes are a great opportunity for somebody that is interested in learning how to use moulding planes, specifically, hollows and rounds. We will be using pairs of 6s, 10s and a rabbet plane to make more than a dozen very different moulding profiles.

We will discuss plane selection (hollows vs. rounds, hollows vs. snipesbills, rounds vs. side rounds) and plane maintenance (from sharpening to seasonal maintenance). We will execute coves, ovolos, cove and ovolos, ogees and more.

The purpose of the class is to build your understanding of how to lay out and execute simple moulding profiles, like coves and ovolos, and then build that knowledge into laying out and executing those that are much more complex.

Are you interested in making your own planes? Come and ask questions. Are you interested in tuning up antiques? Bring them along. Though the class does not focus on these subjects, it's inevitable that they will be discussed.

Do you have a moulding for a current project you want to make? Bring that too. 

Do you need to have your own planes? Absolutely not. I'm bringing all of these and many others for the students to use and, if you're interested, many will be for sale.

The class will culminate with making this picture frame.

Making Planes at CVSW

This weekend I will be teaching a class at The Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking. The students attending this two day class will build a round and leave with the tools, material and understanding to make the matching hollow at home.

We will cover all of the essential elements included in the process: including making a proper fitting wedge, bedding an iron, profiling the sole, creating the matching iron and sharpening profiled edges.

Whether someone intends to make a series of planes for themselves or rehabilitate antique planes, these specific steps are the major necessities.

Come join us!